C. Everett Koop, ’rock star’ surgeon general, dies NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. C. Everett Koop has long been regarded as the nation’s doctor— even though it has been nearly a quarter-century since he was surgeon general. Koop, who died Monday at his home in Hanover, N.H., at age 96, was by far the best known and most influential person to carry that title. Koop, a 6-foot-1 evangelical Presbyterian with a biblical prophet’s beard, donned a public health uniform in the early 1980s and became an enduring...

NY wife: Officer wanted to kill me, eat others NEW YORK (AP) — The estranged wife of a police officer struggled to keep her composure Monday as she testified about discovering shocking online chats and other evidence on his computer showing he had discussed killing her and abducting, torturing and eating other women. “I was going to be tied up by my feet and my throat slit, and they would have fun watching the blood gush out of me because I was young,” Kathleen Mangan-Valle told a Manhatta...

10 Things to Know for Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. EGYPT BALLOON ACCIDENT KILLS 18 TOURISTS Nine tourists from Hong Kong were among the victims of the crash of the hot air balloon into sugar cane fields near the ancient city of Luxor. 2. DOOMSDAY PREDICTIONS FOR AUTOMATIC BUDGET CUTS Obama is drumming up public concern with predictions of lost military resources, jobless benefits and vita...

$2.8B damages in 2011 Mississippi River flood MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The Mississippi River flooding of 2011 caused $2.8 billion in damage and tested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' system of levees, reservoirs and floodways like never before, exposing vulnerabilities that need attention, a report released Monday said. The report from the corps said the flood hit 119 counties in the lower Mississippi River states of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tenne...

10 Things to Know for Monday, Feb. 25, 2013Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. 'ARGO,' 'LIFE OF PI' BIG OSCAR WINNERS Ben Affleck's CIA thriller won best picture, while "Life of Pi" won four trophies, including best director for Ang Lee. 2. STATE-BY-STATE FALLOUT FROM BUDGET CUTS The White House detailed the impact from $85 billion in cuts set to take effect at week's end. 3. A DATE FOR END OF CASTRO ERA Raul Castro...

'Argo' wins best picture on scattered Oscar nightLOS ANGELES (AP), Just as Oscar host Seth MacFarlane set his sights on a variety of targets with a mixture of hits and misses, the motion picture academy spread the gold around to a varied slate of films. "Argo" won best picture as expected, along with two other prizes. But "Life of Pi" won the most awards with four, including a surprise win for director Ang Lee. "Les Miserables" also won three Academy Awards, while "Django Unchained" and "Sky...

Oscars have clear favorites, wild-card MacFarlaneLOS ANGELES (AP) — Some firsts and other rarities are possible at Sunday night's Academy Awards. But if the Oscars could be just a little less predictable, the show might really be one for the record books. Ben Affleck's "Argo" looks like it will uniquely claim best picture without a directing nomination, while "Lincoln" filmmaker Steven Spielberg and star Daniel Day-Lewis are favored to join exclusive lists of three-time Oscar winners. If som...

26-year-old man named as suspect in Vegas shooting LAS VEGAS (AP) — The black SUV used as a getaway car in a pre-dawn shooting and crash that killed an aspiring rapper in a Maserati and two people in a taxi on the Las Vegas Strip was found Saturday as police named a 26-year-old man as the prime suspect. Ammar Harris was being sought in connection with the shooting and six-vehicle chain-reaction carnage Thursday on the neon-lit boulevard near the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally’s and Flamingo r...

Las Vegas seen as dangerous even as crime drops LAS VEGAS (AP) — Variously known as an adult playground and Disneyland for grown-ups, Las Vegas brands itself as a place where tourists can enjoy a sense of edginess with no real danger. But a series of high-profile episodes of random violence amid the throngs of tourists is threatening Sin City’s reputation as a padded room of a town where people can cut loose with no fear of consequences. A car-to-car shooting and fiery crash that killed two...

PM says ’Japan’s back,’ vows stronger ties with US WASHINGTON (AP) — Japan’s new prime minister declared Friday he would make his country a stronger U.S. ally and joined President Barack Obama in warning North Korea that its recent nuclear provocations would not be tolerated. After meeting Obama in the Oval Office, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also sent a clear message to China: that while Japan does not want confrontation with Beijing, it won’t tolerate challenges to its sovereignty over islands...

Smugglers still cashing in on Michigan can refund LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan lawmakers want to crack down on can and bottle smugglers they say are scamming Michigan for undeserved recycling refunds, corrupting a generous 10-cent per container payback policy once infamously portrayed in a “Seinfeld” episode and which beverage officials now claim costs the state millions of dollars annually. “Seinfeld” characters Kramer and Newman failed miserably in their comedic attempt to cash in on the ...

Administration warns of impact of broad budget cut WASHINGTON (AP) — Widespread flight delays and shuttered airports, off-limit seashores and unprotected parks. The Obama administration is painting a dire portrait of the many ways the public will feel the effects of automatic federal spending cuts due to begin March 1. The grim picture is emerging as the White House and lawmakers count down the days until the government is forced to trim $85 billion in domestic and defense spending with hardly...

Reshaped papacy raises questions for church future Pope Benedict XVI has reshaped the papacy simply by giving it up. But how? As the first pontiff in six centuries to step down, Benedict has carved a new path for his successors who decide they cannot rule for life. But scholars say the repercussions could reach beyond just changing how pontiffs leave to ultimately shape perceptions about the authority and significance of the pontificate. “A lot of what it will mean has to do with what subseque...

It’s personal and business in GOP fight over Hagel WASHINGTON (AP) — The fierce Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary is personal and business. The nasty fight long has been seen as a proxy for the never-ending scuffles between the Democratic president and congressional Republicans, with barely any reservoir of good will between the White House and lawmakers, and the GOP still smarting over the November election results. Barring any...

JFK holds complex place in black history Not that many years ago, three portraits hung in thousands of African-American homes, a visual tribute to men who had helped black people navigate the long journey to equality. There was Jesus, who represented unconditional hope, strength and love. There was Martin Luther King Jr., who personified the moral crusade that ended legal segregation. And then there was President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy’s inclusion may seem puzzling, considering tha...

6 leaking tanks are Hanford nuke site’s latest woe YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Federal and state officials say six underground tanks holding a brew of radioactive and toxic waste are leaking at the country’s most contaminated nuclear site in south-central Washington, raising concerns about delays for emptying the aging tanks. The leaking materials at Hanford Nuclear Reservation pose no immediate risk to public safety or the environment because it would take perhaps years for the chemicals to reach gr...

Te’o doing tough balancing act at NFL combine INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Manti Te’o walked into a crowded room of reporters Saturday, took a breath and settled in for 15 minutes of NFL scouting combine history. Again, the former Notre Dame linebacker explained how he had been duped into an Internet romance he had with a girlfriend he never met. He did his best to turn the page on an embarrassing chapter by talking football. This time, he even got to see it play out on live television 12 yards aw...

Governors: Looming cuts threaten economic gains WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington’s protracted budget stalemate could seriously undermine the economy and stall gains made since the recession, exasperated governors said Saturday as they tried to gauge the fallout from impending federal spending cuts. At the annual National Governors Association meeting, both Democrat and Republican chief executives expressed pessimism that both sides could find a way to avoid the massive, automatic spending cuts ...

Colorado teen heard on 911 call saying he killed girl GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A search that set parents in the Denver area on edge last fall, had neighbors casting a suspicious eye on neighbors, and left a family grieving the loss of a 10-year-old ended with the teen suspect telling a 911 dispatcher: “I murdered Jessica Ridgeway. I have proof that I did it.” He told the 911 dispatcher that some of Jessica’s remains were in the crawl space at his mother’s house, according to a recording of the Oct. 2...

What does a ‘secure’ border look like? Once, the barren mesas and shrub-covered canyons that extend east of the Pacific Ocean held the most popular routes for illegal immigrants heading into the U.S. Dozens at a time sprinted to waiting cars or a trolley stop in San Diego, passing border agents who were too busy herding others to give pause. Now, 20 years after that onslaught, crossing would mean scaling two fences (one topped with coiled razor wire), passing a phalanx of agents an...